The news quickly reached the Crown Prince's Palace.
Relieved, Song Xibai put away the gold needles and secretly decided not to use them for the next few months unless it was a matter of life and death.
That evening, the Crown Prince brought back another piece of good news.
"Xiao Liu has recovered. I had the guards escort him back to the palace. He has already entered the city, but the palace gates are locked. I told him to stay at the Prince of Wu's residence for the night and then enter the palace tomorrow."
The prince took off his outer robe, washed his hands and face at the entrance, exhaled a long breath, and then spoke.
"The coroner has examined those bodies, and they are undoubtedly gardeners from the Imperial Garden. There was mud under their fingernails and on the soles of their shoes. I had mud from the Imperial Garden and the greenhouse compared, and they are the same."
"In addition, one of them had grass seeds in his hair, and the other had bean cake crumbs stuck to his trousers."
"Soybean cake?" Song Xibai asked subconsciously.
"It's used as fertilizer in the palace; it's the residue left after pressing beans for oil," the Crown Prince explained.
Song Xibai clicked her tongue in astonishment: "They use this kind of stuff as fertilizer in the palace? I thought they used manure!"
The Crown Prince didn't know this before; he only found out after reading the coroner's report.
"Perhaps it's because these things don't smell?" the Crown Prince said after thinking for a moment, then waved his hand, "That's not important. Now that we've confirmed their identities, our guess is very likely true."
"But why kill them?" Song Xibai still didn't quite understand. "And in such a hurry, there wasn't even time to dispose of the bodies, so they had to be buried in a remote place."
Gardeners had a low status in the palace and were not paid much attention to. If someone really wanted to kill them to silence them, they could do it one by one without arousing suspicion.
"What's he in such a hurry for..." the Crown Prince pondered.
Song Xibai pulled him to sit down at the table: "Do these gardeners have any friends they usually associate with? I wonder if we can find any clues by starting with them?"
"I've already sent people to investigate, but most people in the palace are just trying to protect themselves, so I doubt they'll find anything useful. Let's put this matter aside for now, Qingqing, don't worry about it too much."
Song Xibai nodded, thinking that since the body had been disposed of, she could go see Princess Qin tomorrow.
Speaking of the Princess Consort of Qin, Song Xibai couldn't help but mutter.
"I heard that Prince Qin has been going to the Western Third Palace every day these past few days, insisting on bringing Princess Qin back to the palace, but Princess Qin just won't go. I wonder what these two are up to. Has Prince Qin been favoring his concubine over his wife?"
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow: "The Qin Prince's harem has always been harmonious with his wives and concubines; I've never heard of any conflicts between them."
Song Xibai's eyes widened: "How is that possible? Didn't they say that the Prince of Qin favored his concubine? That concubine has served him for many years and even gave birth to his son."
At this point, Song Xibai frowned.
"Your Highness, in the eyes of outsiders, am I like the concubine of the Prince of Qin? Won't this bring you a bad reputation?"
The Crown Prince chuckled: "What nonsense are you thinking? When have I ever disrespected the Crown Princess? Although the Prince of Qin's concubine has given birth to a son, the mistress of the house is still the Princess of Qin. It's just that the Princess of Qin is weak-willed and can't manage things, so the Prince of Qin lets the concubine help with some of the management. The Prince of Qin doesn't dislike the Princess of Qin. As far as I know, she serves him in all his daily needs."
The more Song Xibai listened, the more uneasy she felt.
"According to you, in the Prince of Qin's residence, the concubine manages the household, while the princess takes care of the Prince's daily needs? Isn't that the reversed order?"
When Song Xibai said that, the Crown Prince also felt a little strange, but he didn't care much.
"What business is it of ours if other people's affairs are not ours?"
Song Xibai suddenly glanced at him sideways: "Your Highness seems to dislike the Prince of Qin?"
He addressed the King of Wu and the Sixth Prince as "Third Brother" and "Sixth Brother," but addressed the King of Qin as "King of Qin."
The crown prince snorted.
"His birth mother used a scheme to get pregnant when the Empress was pregnant with me. I heard from the nannies that the Emperor and the Empress had a fight because of this, and they didn't make up until the Empress gave birth to me."
Song Xibai remained silent. No wonder the King of Qin was a nobody in both the court and the harem!
Sensing Song Xibai's silence, the Crown Prince turned around and softened his tone: "Qingqing, you don't need to think too much. If you want to befriend Princess Qin, just go ahead."
Song Xibai glanced at him: "Is it alright?"
"It's alright." The Crown Prince gently embraced her. "Although the Yan family is a family of third-rank officials, the position of Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is a sinecure. The only thing they have to offer is that Lord Yan was a top scholar in the imperial examination. It's just a pity that he offended his superiors when he was in the Hanlin Academy and was suppressed for many years. He was over fifty years old before he was able to become a third-rank official."
Upon hearing this, Song Xibai couldn't help but sigh, "The officialdom is so complicated!"
The crown prince nodded in agreement.
"This is nothing! Lord Yan is upright and talented, but he has been suppressed for decades because of the grudges between four people. If he hadn't been so resilient, he probably wouldn't have been able to stay in the capital long ago. He is a talented person, but he is getting old now and will soon be retiring."
In the Da Yin Dynasty, officials would submit a petition to retire at the age of sixty. Of course, under normal circumstances, if you did a good job, the emperor would try to retain you. Those with high prestige and talent would even be invited to stay three times.
However, it is clear that Lord Yan is not among them.
The prince explained in a low voice. After he finished speaking, he suddenly felt that there was no sound in his arms. He looked down and found that Song Xibai had actually fallen asleep.
The Crown Prince gazed at Song Xibai's sleeping face and couldn't help but place a feather-light kiss on her cheek.
Then, he gently carried her to the bed.
The next day, after having breakfast, Song Xibai took Wei Hong and several palace maids to the West Third Palace.
Inside the West Third Palace, the Princess of Qin was having a meal.
When Song Xibai came in, she saw a little girl of about six or seven years old sitting next to Princess Qin, stretching out her arm to serve her food.
The little girl wore a pinkish-purple dress with large peonies embroidered on the hem. She had two delicate gold butterfly hairpins in her hair, and a jeweled necklace around her neck. She had big, clear eyes, but her chin was slightly pointed. Her features were about five or six points similar to those of the Princess of Qin.
Song Xibai immediately recognized that this must be Yuan Qingshao, the daughter of the Princess of Qin.
"Greetings, Princess."
Song Xibai took the initiative to greet him.
Yuan Qingshao quickly jumped off the stool and bowed respectfully to her.
"Qing Shao greets Consort Liangdi and expresses her deepest gratitude for Consort Liangdi's care for my mother."
At only five or six years old, he spoke and acted with remarkable composure, like a little adult, which made Song Xibai feel affection for him.
She touched herself and realized she hadn't brought any gifts, so she took out the purple jade hairpin from her hair and handed it to her.
"I came in a hurry today, so you can take this hairpin and play with it!"
Yuan Qingshao hurriedly declined, saying, "Qingshao is too young to wear such jewelry."
Song Xibai never cared much about jewelry, but Yuan Qingshao knew its value. Purple jade was rare, even in the imperial harem.
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